Hockey sticks ate well-known sports implements used in ice hockey and in variations of ice hockey to manipulate and move a puck, ball or similar game object. A stick is typically made of wood, but also may be made partially or completely of other materials such as plastic, fiberglass and the like and, wooden sticks or blades may be overlaid with fiberglass and the like. Generally, a hockey stick type sports implement has an elongated shank with a handle grip portion at one end (the upper end) and blade at the second end (the lower end). The blade generally extends transversely outwardly away from the longitudinal central axis of the shank at between 45.degree. to 120.degree.. The blade may be removably connected to the shank by a mortise/tenon arrangement and is the portion of the stick implement which contacts the game object, being used to control, shoot or move the object. The
One problem with hockey sticks (and other sports implements) is that repeated contact of the game object, with the blade (or game object contacting portion) causes wear thereby adversely affecting control of game object and shot accuracy. Another consequence of the repeated contact is potential failure or fracture of the blade due to impact and abrasion.
Another source of damage to the blade portion of hockey sticks is abrasion from the surface on which the game is being played, e.g., ice, grass, wood, asphalt, cement or the like. The contact of the lower edge of the blade portion of the stick with the surfaces causes significant abrasion and/or fracture. Even on ice, there is an abrasive factor.
In an attempt to solve the problems mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, i.e., wear and catastrophic failure, users of hockey stick type sports implements commonly wrap or cover the blade portion of the stick with adhesive tape or other strip adhesive material such as black friction tape, cloth tape and the like. Typically, the blade is wrapped or covered by successive layers of strip adhesive material in an overlapping spiral pattern until the blade is deemed to be covered sufficiently. While the use of tape may prolong the life of the hockey stick blade, the wrapping needs to be redone frequently, even as often as after every use of the stick implement, due to abrasion, wear or actual tearing of the tape. Another problem is that, particularly in ice hockey, the tape absorbs moisture thereby weakening it, increasing the likelihood of adhesive failure and unwrapping, and making the tape wrapped stick heavier and unbalanced.
Another reason that hockey sticks, and other sports equipment, are wrapped or taped is to improve their performance when striking or moving a game object such as a puck or a ball. Typically, in the example of hockey sticks, it is the puck contacting portion of the blade which is wrapped with tape sufficiently layered and patterned to impart a "soft" touch or feel for the player when handling or shooting the puck. A similar object may be achieved by wrapping or overlaying the grip or handle portion of sports equipment with tape. Wrapping also may be used to increase the friction between the blade and puck and to assist in imparting a spin to the puck.
Wrapping is so common, particularly in ice hockey, that the National Hockey League official rules make clear that "adhesive tape of any color may be wrapped around the stick at any place for purpose of reinforcement or to improve control of the puck". (National Hockey League Official Rules, Rule No. 20, entitled "Sticks") There is no suggestion in the rules about providing or using other material or methods to wrap a stick.
While wrapping with adhesive tape type material may temporarily improve the durability and handling and feel characteristics of sports implements, including hockey sticks, the tape material is usually porous and deleteriously affected by moisture whether from the surface the game is being played on or from the user's hands. Particularly in the example of adhesive tapes, moisture causes the failure of the adhesive, slipperiness, unwrapping or unevenness of the tape. As in the case of abrasive wear, any of these events requires that the user strip the old material from the implement and rewrap it.